WEST JORDAN — When Jessica Smith was a little girl she would stash her furry friends where her parents couldn't find them.
"I used to hide them in my bedroom," she said of her occasional pets. "My dad hates animals. My mom doesn't mind them, but my dad can't stand them."
Now her pets are her livelihood, and she is more than willing to share them with others.
Smith and her husband, Tyler, run the new Barnyard Buddies Petting Zoo at Gardner Village at 1100 W. 7800 South. The outdoor petting arena opened west of Archibald's Restaurant in March and features donkeys, pigs, goats, rabbits, a llama and more.
Last September, the owner of Gardner Village asked Jessica and Tyler Smith if they would be interested in running the zoo. The Smiths immediately began collecting pets for their farm.
"He knew we liked animals and we had horses, and my husband used to work maintenance here so we had an in," Smith said.
The animals live in a nearby pasture and are rounded up every morning before the zoo opens at 11 a.m.
"It's tiring," Jessica Smith said, speaking of all of the chores associated with her job. "Especially in the morning."
The workers have to constantly make sure that all of the animals are clean. The zoo is United States Department of Agriculture licensed, and just outside the entrance and exit of the zoo is a hand sanitizing station for customers to sanitize their hands before and after petting the animals.
Jessica Smith said children seem to like the farmlike animals, but the llama, Jack, also draws plenty of attention.
The petting zoo gives those who may not have exposure to animals the opportunity to see them. Sharon Miller of Riverton brought her granddaughter, who is from California, to the zoo. She said that 8-month-old Jalen Calderon usually likes animals. Jalen's mom, Carrie Kirkland, said that her daughter mostly likes dogs and cats.
"This is her first experience with goats," Miller said.
The goats also flocked around Miller during the visit.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Miller asked one goat. "Are you eating my clothes? You're so silly."
Jessica Smith said that parents, not kids, are usually the ones who are the most afraid of the animals.
"It depends on people and how they are raised," Smith said. "Most kids just go for it, and the parents freak out."
Eighteen-month-old Ellie Mason of Sandy was fearless during her trip to the zoo with her mother Delani. Ellie shrieked as she ran around chasing the goats and chickens. She rubbed a lamb's head until it thought she was a fellow lamb and butted her.
"It's so small, but it thinks it can buck the kids," Delani Mason said.
Jessica said the animals are really calm. But just in case, her 16-month-old daughter, Sydney, tests them out to make sure they are friendly.
"She runs right up to the goats and grabs their horns and shakes them," Jessica Smith said. "Even with my 400-pound pig, she goes in there and grabs her and she doesn't care. She breaks them all in."
Jessica Smith and her husband have raised the majority of the animals themselves.
"We had 12 on a bottle at once," she said.
Barnyard Buddies also has pony rides at the zoo and will rent horses out for personal parties for $60 per horse per hour.
"One person wanted to rent a horse for an hour with just one kid," Smith said.
Jessica Smith said that she plans on keeping the zoo opened until late October or early November, weather permitting. The zoo is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost is $2 for the petting zoo and $3 for pony rides.
During the fall, Jessica Smith said, Scout troops and school groups are going to come on field trips to the zoo.
Jessica Smith cherishes her job.
"You get to play with animals all day," she said.
Now others can come to love animals as much as Jessica and Tyler Smith do.
Lacy Foulks of Salt Lake City brought her 16-month-old daughter, Jenna, to the zoo in August. The Foulks live in an apartment where they are not allowed to have pets. Jenna mimicked the sounds that the goats would make.
"She loves animals, and I thought it would be neat for her to touch them," Lacy Foulks said.
Delani Mason was excited to introduce her daughter to the animals in a hands-on environment.
"Well, we have all these farm books," she said. "She loves those books and then we can come here and see the real animals and it's fun."
E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com